This isn't directed at anyone or any team. It was just something I was thinking about during my ride today. I also can't say I've never fallen into these traps.
Teams in the skating world are so much different than teams in the cycling world. I'm not sure why that is. The turnover in skating is a lot greater than in cycling. I think a lot of skaters choose a team based on what they can receive. It's slightly annoying when people ask "what are you getting?" I'm getting a chance to skate with some of the most experienced guys in the country...guys that are fun to travel with, who I enjoy being around. I get the opportunity to wear the logo of a company (Simmons Racing) I've looked up to since I was 12 years old. I can't think of anything that another team could offer me that would make me want to skate for somebody else.
I feel the same way with my cycling team. Unless I was determined to become a professional, which I'm not, there isn't a single reason I would switch to a different team.
Undiscovered isn't just a random group of guys. Each person from category 5 and up was hand picked because we want them there. We have standards that extend further than just how fast somebody can ride a bike. It doesn't matter how much talent somebody has, if they don't click with our guys right away, they won't be racing in our kit. We were lucky to be able to add so many great guys to the team for this year. Not only are most of my inline skating teammates racing bikes for Undiscovered, but we also have a handful of cat 4s and cat 5s that instantly became part of the family. We might all be really nice guys, but that doesn't take one bit of our desire to win off the table; and we will win in 2012.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
$80 donated, some leftover thoughts, a video, and Contador news
First of all, I won $80 at the mountain bike race yesterday. That will be going to the Spero Project. If anyone is willing to match that, please make your donation at http://www.thesperoproject.com/Make_A_Donation . Let me know if you do. It will be interesting to see tally up how much we've raised throughout the year.
I still have a lot of excitement left over from yesterday's race. I spent a good chunk of that 6 hours and 40 minutes of riding by myself, and that gives you a lot of time to think. At first I would just break the course down in my head. I knew where I wanted to lock out my fork and where I wanted to change it back. I knew where the really loose corners were. I knew where I could eat and where I could take a drink. I knew where to play it safe and where to take some risk. A few times I got those mixed up and ended up over my bars once, starring at dirt another time, and ripping my favorite wind vest on a tree, so now it looks like a highschooler's t-shirt at the YMCA gym (if you've been there, you know what I mean).
Then I would try and figure out who was the next guy in front of me. Their name would become a mantra that I would repeat over and over in my head until I catch them. It's weird, I know. But it felt like it was working.
Once I realized I was in 3rd place I actually got a little emotional. That always happens to me for really long races. A mechanical multiplies this. The same thing happened at Joe Martin when my shifter broke. You just get proud of yourself for overcoming adversity. Even though this was a really small race and didn't mean much to most people, the way the day played out really mattered to me. I really felt like I needed it this weekend. A few weeks ago I had told my cycling/marriage/spiritual/career/etc mentor (Brad Cox) about my fundraising plans. I don't think he'll mind me posting an excerpt of what he said.
"You know that by doing this, you’re taking the fight to a different level right? Satan hated you on general principals before, but now it’s “personal”. He will try whatever he can to undermine what you’re attempting… your fitness, bike racing, marriage, etc."
Well...without going into detail, on Monday Sarah and I got some news that will impact our financial situation. It was completely out of the blue. Everything is fine...I'm not looking for sympathy or anything. In the grand scheme it is a very small and temporary setback.
It's the timing that stands out the most to me. It's also what makes me believe in this fundraising thing even more. So when I found out I was racing for the money, it got me super pumped. My 9th lap was probably nearly as fast as any. Like I said, I didn't just want it this weekend; I felt like a needed it. When you feel like you need it, nothing can stand in your way. Not a mechanical, not the pain in your legs, not your tired lungs.
Anyway, here is the video from the race. Enjoy.
The big news of the day has to be the Contador ban. A few things -
1. It sucks that whenever cycling makes the news headlines, it is always something negative.
2. I don't agree with the retroactive ban.
It's been one year and seven months since his test, and he has gotten quite a bit of racing in. Granted, all those results are over-turned; but it seems like giving him a retroactive ban is such a small slap on the wrist. He will only be out of racing for 5 months. If he was guilty (which they decided he was) then I think he should have to take 2 years off from racing...which means that would start now. If he was innocent, then charges should be dropped and he can keep on going. Oh well...it's not an American court so my limited knowledge of the justice system (mostly from Law and Order re-runs) probably doesn't apply.
It sucks for the guys who finished second to him. Now they are bumped up to first, but who really wants to win like that? In my opinion those guys still finished second, but maybe there should be an asterisk beside their names saying the winner was a convicted doper.
I still have a lot of excitement left over from yesterday's race. I spent a good chunk of that 6 hours and 40 minutes of riding by myself, and that gives you a lot of time to think. At first I would just break the course down in my head. I knew where I wanted to lock out my fork and where I wanted to change it back. I knew where the really loose corners were. I knew where I could eat and where I could take a drink. I knew where to play it safe and where to take some risk. A few times I got those mixed up and ended up over my bars once, starring at dirt another time, and ripping my favorite wind vest on a tree, so now it looks like a highschooler's t-shirt at the YMCA gym (if you've been there, you know what I mean).
Then I would try and figure out who was the next guy in front of me. Their name would become a mantra that I would repeat over and over in my head until I catch them. It's weird, I know. But it felt like it was working.
Once I realized I was in 3rd place I actually got a little emotional. That always happens to me for really long races. A mechanical multiplies this. The same thing happened at Joe Martin when my shifter broke. You just get proud of yourself for overcoming adversity. Even though this was a really small race and didn't mean much to most people, the way the day played out really mattered to me. I really felt like I needed it this weekend. A few weeks ago I had told my cycling/marriage/spiritual/career/etc mentor (Brad Cox) about my fundraising plans. I don't think he'll mind me posting an excerpt of what he said.
"You know that by doing this, you’re taking the fight to a different level right? Satan hated you on general principals before, but now it’s “personal”. He will try whatever he can to undermine what you’re attempting… your fitness, bike racing, marriage, etc."
Well...without going into detail, on Monday Sarah and I got some news that will impact our financial situation. It was completely out of the blue. Everything is fine...I'm not looking for sympathy or anything. In the grand scheme it is a very small and temporary setback.
It's the timing that stands out the most to me. It's also what makes me believe in this fundraising thing even more. So when I found out I was racing for the money, it got me super pumped. My 9th lap was probably nearly as fast as any. Like I said, I didn't just want it this weekend; I felt like a needed it. When you feel like you need it, nothing can stand in your way. Not a mechanical, not the pain in your legs, not your tired lungs.
Anyway, here is the video from the race. Enjoy.
The big news of the day has to be the Contador ban. A few things -
1. It sucks that whenever cycling makes the news headlines, it is always something negative.
2. I don't agree with the retroactive ban.
It's been one year and seven months since his test, and he has gotten quite a bit of racing in. Granted, all those results are over-turned; but it seems like giving him a retroactive ban is such a small slap on the wrist. He will only be out of racing for 5 months. If he was guilty (which they decided he was) then I think he should have to take 2 years off from racing...which means that would start now. If he was innocent, then charges should be dropped and he can keep on going. Oh well...it's not an American court so my limited knowledge of the justice system (mostly from Law and Order re-runs) probably doesn't apply.
It sucks for the guys who finished second to him. Now they are bumped up to first, but who really wants to win like that? In my opinion those guys still finished second, but maybe there should be an asterisk beside their names saying the winner was a convicted doper.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
6 Hour Mountain Bike Race
I competed as a solo rider in the Uno Mas Por Favor 6 hour mountain bike race at Clearbay (Thunderbird) today. It was my 3rd mountain bike race. Here is a rundown of the first two:
Mountains of Mayhem - With about 2 miles to go I was fighting for 3rd place with one other rider. We had a big gap on 4th and the top 2 guys were gone. We missed a turn and added miles onto the course. We ended up about 50th or 60th.
Syllamo 125k - I felt great on the first climb. I hit the single track in the top 5 (this was a big pro race so I was happy with that) and then I slid out on a wet rock and broke my hydraulic brake line about 3 miles into a 76 mile event. Not good. I finished hours behind the winner.
That brings us to today. It was a really well put on race, and some people traveled from out of town, but I pretty much knew the top guys and was really amped about racing them. It was a le mans style start (everyone has to run to their bike). I expected about a 50 yard dash, but it was more like 500 yards. I didn't want to go out too hard (6 hours is a long time) and didn't get the greatest position into the single track. We were going pretty fast, so it wasn't too bad; but I knew that the leaders were putting time on me (and Brandon, who was right behind me.
I finally moved into 3rd place and sat there for the rest of the first lap. I moved into 2nd starting the second lap, and eventually caught the leader on the third or fourth. I sat on him for about a quarter lap and then my mountain bike racing luck hit.
I burped my tire on a root around a corner. I pulled over and got my mini pump out. I had taped the head so that it wouldn't rattle, and I really didn't expect to need it. I put new stans (liquid latex) in last night. I run UST (tubeless) rims and TNT (tubes-no-tubes) tires, so they are usually pretty reliable. It took longer than I expected to get the tape off my pump, and by the time I started pumping I had already lost a couple spots. I got it back up to my desired pressure, but what I should have done is kept going until the bead re-seated. After 5 minutes of work I was back on my bike, but 30 seconds later it was low again. I stopped and put a tube in it. When your heart rate is up and you are trying to hurry, you inevitably take way longer to change a flat. Plus I had on gloves at first...two pair. Then I broke my tire lever. Then I got latex all over my hands so I couldn't get a good grip on the tire to get it back on the rim. It took nearly 11 minutes to get going again. (I had the video camera going, which is how I knew how long it took.
I thought about quitting. It is hard to get motivated when you were do happy with how you were riding, and then you have a setback that puts you 16 minutes back.
6 hours is a long race, so I thought I might be able to at least make it back into the money spots. I had been doing a good job on my nutrition plan, so I figured I could ride the entire 6 hours pretty hard, where others would start to fall off. I was doing a pop tart (yes...a yummy poptart) every lap. That is 200 calories every 36-40 minutes. I was doing a bottle of EFS sport drink every 2 hours. I'll go more into my race nutrition plans in a future blog post since this one is already getting long.
For this race, you go as far as you can in 6 hours. If you finish a lap at 5:59, you can finish another lap. I saw that each lap was taking just under 40 minutes, and with 120 minutes left I realized that I would probably finish 9 laps in just under 6 hours, which meant I'd have to do a tenth lap. I wasn't very excited about that thought.
With 80 minutes left I found out that 2nd place was just in front of me. I couldn't believe it. It turns out that two guys had dropped out, so that moved me up further than I thought I was. It was tough to pace myself with this news, but that is what you have to do. Nearly 5 hours into a race, if you go anaerobic you may not recover. I knew I was riding faster than he was because I took a split the lap before at Huffy Hill and he was about 4 minutes up. I kept my pace, caught him, and passed him. When I finished my 9th lap there was 3 minutes left. I figured I had about 2:30 on him. I couldn't stop yet. The 10th lap sucked, especially since I figured first place was still about 16 minutes up on me. My body and mind were both finished.
It's hard to say what would have happened if I didn't flat. It probably would have been a good battle between Brandon and I for the win. He is the better mountain bike rider, so if he wanted to drop me in the technical sections I'm 99% sure he could have. But....he was on his single speed, so he would have had a tough time the last half mile on the double track. I still think he would have taken it though.
The interesting thing is that we both got in 85 miles on the road yesterday. So, 85 HARD miles yesterday on the road and 70 miles with about 7000 feet of climbing today. It was a pretty fantastic end to this training block.
I got some good video from my gopro today, but I don't have time to edit it down and upload it tonight. Hopefully I can turn the 6 hour race into something about 6 minutes long.
Mountains of Mayhem - With about 2 miles to go I was fighting for 3rd place with one other rider. We had a big gap on 4th and the top 2 guys were gone. We missed a turn and added miles onto the course. We ended up about 50th or 60th.
Syllamo 125k - I felt great on the first climb. I hit the single track in the top 5 (this was a big pro race so I was happy with that) and then I slid out on a wet rock and broke my hydraulic brake line about 3 miles into a 76 mile event. Not good. I finished hours behind the winner.
That brings us to today. It was a really well put on race, and some people traveled from out of town, but I pretty much knew the top guys and was really amped about racing them. It was a le mans style start (everyone has to run to their bike). I expected about a 50 yard dash, but it was more like 500 yards. I didn't want to go out too hard (6 hours is a long time) and didn't get the greatest position into the single track. We were going pretty fast, so it wasn't too bad; but I knew that the leaders were putting time on me (and Brandon, who was right behind me.
I finally moved into 3rd place and sat there for the rest of the first lap. I moved into 2nd starting the second lap, and eventually caught the leader on the third or fourth. I sat on him for about a quarter lap and then my mountain bike racing luck hit.
I burped my tire on a root around a corner. I pulled over and got my mini pump out. I had taped the head so that it wouldn't rattle, and I really didn't expect to need it. I put new stans (liquid latex) in last night. I run UST (tubeless) rims and TNT (tubes-no-tubes) tires, so they are usually pretty reliable. It took longer than I expected to get the tape off my pump, and by the time I started pumping I had already lost a couple spots. I got it back up to my desired pressure, but what I should have done is kept going until the bead re-seated. After 5 minutes of work I was back on my bike, but 30 seconds later it was low again. I stopped and put a tube in it. When your heart rate is up and you are trying to hurry, you inevitably take way longer to change a flat. Plus I had on gloves at first...two pair. Then I broke my tire lever. Then I got latex all over my hands so I couldn't get a good grip on the tire to get it back on the rim. It took nearly 11 minutes to get going again. (I had the video camera going, which is how I knew how long it took.
I thought about quitting. It is hard to get motivated when you were do happy with how you were riding, and then you have a setback that puts you 16 minutes back.
6 hours is a long race, so I thought I might be able to at least make it back into the money spots. I had been doing a good job on my nutrition plan, so I figured I could ride the entire 6 hours pretty hard, where others would start to fall off. I was doing a pop tart (yes...a yummy poptart) every lap. That is 200 calories every 36-40 minutes. I was doing a bottle of EFS sport drink every 2 hours. I'll go more into my race nutrition plans in a future blog post since this one is already getting long.
For this race, you go as far as you can in 6 hours. If you finish a lap at 5:59, you can finish another lap. I saw that each lap was taking just under 40 minutes, and with 120 minutes left I realized that I would probably finish 9 laps in just under 6 hours, which meant I'd have to do a tenth lap. I wasn't very excited about that thought.
With 80 minutes left I found out that 2nd place was just in front of me. I couldn't believe it. It turns out that two guys had dropped out, so that moved me up further than I thought I was. It was tough to pace myself with this news, but that is what you have to do. Nearly 5 hours into a race, if you go anaerobic you may not recover. I knew I was riding faster than he was because I took a split the lap before at Huffy Hill and he was about 4 minutes up. I kept my pace, caught him, and passed him. When I finished my 9th lap there was 3 minutes left. I figured I had about 2:30 on him. I couldn't stop yet. The 10th lap sucked, especially since I figured first place was still about 16 minutes up on me. My body and mind were both finished.
It's hard to say what would have happened if I didn't flat. It probably would have been a good battle between Brandon and I for the win. He is the better mountain bike rider, so if he wanted to drop me in the technical sections I'm 99% sure he could have. But....he was on his single speed, so he would have had a tough time the last half mile on the double track. I still think he would have taken it though.
The interesting thing is that we both got in 85 miles on the road yesterday. So, 85 HARD miles yesterday on the road and 70 miles with about 7000 feet of climbing today. It was a pretty fantastic end to this training block.
I got some good video from my gopro today, but I don't have time to edit it down and upload it tonight. Hopefully I can turn the 6 hour race into something about 6 minutes long.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Product Review: Giro Aeon Helmet (and some older helmets)
I started speed skating about 15 years ago, and I've had at least a dozen different helmets between then and now. I've had a few Rudy Projects, a Limar, a BUNCH of Bell helmets, a specialized, and a few Giros.
The Rudy Project helmets were nice because they were pretty sleek and you don't see them everywhere. They were also pretty light. The best feature was the dial in the back that adjusted out tight the retention system was. In my opinion, the fit left a bit to be desired. The new ones may be better, but I feel like they sat too high up on my head.
The limar was also sleek and streamlined, but it fit like the rudy project (must be a euro thing) and it didn't have a dial. Like the rudy project, you don't see many people with them, so it was something different.
The specialized fit great, but the look was a little bulky. It had great ventilation, but it lacked a rear dial to easily adjust the retention strap on the go.
The most recent Bell helmet I had was the Volt. I think it is a really good looking helmet, which is why I was pretty excited when we chose it as our team helmet last year. It does look good, and like the rudy projects, it has a dial on the back to adjust the fit. The problem with this helmet is that I was between sizes, so it never felt quite right. It also isn't ventilated as well as some other helmets.
I really liked the Giro Atmos. It looked good, ventilated great, fit good, and felt pretty light on my head. Too bad one of my dogs got a hold of it. (NOTE: I think the most current atmos has the same retaining system as the Aeon).
The Aeon tops them all....easily. And I can say that after only one 85 mile ride. It looks good, it is light, it is well ventilated, the fit is perfect (for me), and it has a dial on the back. The dial is almost like a micro adjust. Where the Bell goes from too loose to nearly too tight with one click, this Giro allows you to make it just right. When I say it is light, I mean it is STUPID light (218g vs 330 for the bell volt). The straps are very thin and very light. Just because it is light, doesn't mean it is any less safe. All of the helmets I've had have had to pass certain safety tests. Giro really hit a home run with this design. I can't think of a single fault.
Just for fun, this is the oldest picture I have of myself in a helmet. When I bought this Bell Nemesis, I thought it was sooooo cool. I was probably about 16 in this photo.
The Rudy Project helmets were nice because they were pretty sleek and you don't see them everywhere. They were also pretty light. The best feature was the dial in the back that adjusted out tight the retention system was. In my opinion, the fit left a bit to be desired. The new ones may be better, but I feel like they sat too high up on my head.
The limar was also sleek and streamlined, but it fit like the rudy project (must be a euro thing) and it didn't have a dial. Like the rudy project, you don't see many people with them, so it was something different.
The specialized fit great, but the look was a little bulky. It had great ventilation, but it lacked a rear dial to easily adjust the retention strap on the go.
The most recent Bell helmet I had was the Volt. I think it is a really good looking helmet, which is why I was pretty excited when we chose it as our team helmet last year. It does look good, and like the rudy projects, it has a dial on the back to adjust the fit. The problem with this helmet is that I was between sizes, so it never felt quite right. It also isn't ventilated as well as some other helmets.
I really liked the Giro Atmos. It looked good, ventilated great, fit good, and felt pretty light on my head. Too bad one of my dogs got a hold of it. (NOTE: I think the most current atmos has the same retaining system as the Aeon).
The Aeon tops them all....easily. And I can say that after only one 85 mile ride. It looks good, it is light, it is well ventilated, the fit is perfect (for me), and it has a dial on the back. The dial is almost like a micro adjust. Where the Bell goes from too loose to nearly too tight with one click, this Giro allows you to make it just right. When I say it is light, I mean it is STUPID light (218g vs 330 for the bell volt). The straps are very thin and very light. Just because it is light, doesn't mean it is any less safe. All of the helmets I've had have had to pass certain safety tests. Giro really hit a home run with this design. I can't think of a single fault.
Just for fun, this is the oldest picture I have of myself in a helmet. When I bought this Bell Nemesis, I thought it was sooooo cool. I was probably about 16 in this photo.
Friday, February 3, 2012
"A goal without a plan is just a dream"
Ok....so I opened with another Dave Ramsey quote, but it fits so well I couldn't help myself. If you want to be successful in cycling or skating, you ride or skate with the best and learn everything you can. If you want to be successful in other arenas, you look for the subject matter expert and learn everything you can.
Financially, we have a budget each month. Every dollar is assigned at the beginning of the month. The leftover goes towards our financial goal.
Training is the same way. We have a limited amount of time (just like we have a limited income) and the best way to spend that time is to have a workout planned ahead of time. We all have different training methodologies, so I won't go into the specifics of how I think we should spend our time, but having a written plan helps keep us honest. If I have a specific workout planned on a certain day, I am much more likely to do it. If my mind isn't already set on a specific workout, there is a better chance I'll think of a reason to back out.
It almost happened tonight actually, even though I did have a workout in mind. I was supposed to pre-ride a mountain bike race course today, but the rain snuffed that idea. 7:00 rolled around and it was dark outside and I hadn't gotten my workout in. When the weather is this nice, riding the trainer is unthinkable for me. I ended up putting some running shoes on and getting a solid aerobic workout in, just like I had planned on the mountain bike.
Just because you have a plan, it doesn't mean you can't call an audible. Weather throws us a monkey wrench sometimes, but instead of skipping a workout completely, I try and fit in something that will stress my body in the same way.
The main race season in the region is from March through June. I usually like to set my training up so that I'm decently fit early and keep getting stronger through the end of April. Then I just try to hold onto fitness as long as I can, or until Tulsa Tough at least. Last year was a crappy year for racing, but my fitness levels were pretty much right where I planned them to be for the first part of the year. Then (especially in 2012) I'll switch to skating and get ready for the fall inline racing season. This seemed to work out well last year too. I had some problems at Duluth, but I finished 2nd in St Paul, 2nd in Houston, and first in San Diego. Why? For one, I had a goal, then a plan, and then the motivation to reach it.
For 2012 in 2012 I have a dream, a goal, a plan, and more motivation than I think I've ever had. Let's see if I can implement it.
Financially, we have a budget each month. Every dollar is assigned at the beginning of the month. The leftover goes towards our financial goal.
Training is the same way. We have a limited amount of time (just like we have a limited income) and the best way to spend that time is to have a workout planned ahead of time. We all have different training methodologies, so I won't go into the specifics of how I think we should spend our time, but having a written plan helps keep us honest. If I have a specific workout planned on a certain day, I am much more likely to do it. If my mind isn't already set on a specific workout, there is a better chance I'll think of a reason to back out.
It almost happened tonight actually, even though I did have a workout in mind. I was supposed to pre-ride a mountain bike race course today, but the rain snuffed that idea. 7:00 rolled around and it was dark outside and I hadn't gotten my workout in. When the weather is this nice, riding the trainer is unthinkable for me. I ended up putting some running shoes on and getting a solid aerobic workout in, just like I had planned on the mountain bike.
Just because you have a plan, it doesn't mean you can't call an audible. Weather throws us a monkey wrench sometimes, but instead of skipping a workout completely, I try and fit in something that will stress my body in the same way.
The main race season in the region is from March through June. I usually like to set my training up so that I'm decently fit early and keep getting stronger through the end of April. Then I just try to hold onto fitness as long as I can, or until Tulsa Tough at least. Last year was a crappy year for racing, but my fitness levels were pretty much right where I planned them to be for the first part of the year. Then (especially in 2012) I'll switch to skating and get ready for the fall inline racing season. This seemed to work out well last year too. I had some problems at Duluth, but I finished 2nd in St Paul, 2nd in Houston, and first in San Diego. Why? For one, I had a goal, then a plan, and then the motivation to reach it.
For 2012 in 2012 I have a dream, a goal, a plan, and more motivation than I think I've ever had. Let's see if I can implement it.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Goal Setting
Sarah and I set aside time every January to establish annual goals. We don't consider them "new years resolutions;" we just happen to document them around the new year for the ease of tracking them. We typically set physical/fitness goals, career goals, spiritual goals, and financial goals. Dave Ramsey says "Successful people reassess their lives and then start living intentionally, in writing, on paper, on purpose;" and I can't think of many people who know more about habits of successful people than Dave Ramsey.
Actually, while I'm quoting Dave, I may as well just give you the whole shebang.
"Be specific. When setting goals, be specific in what you want to achieve. Vagueness will only cause you to feel overwhelmed, and you will just give up.
Make your goals measurable. In order to know if you achieved the goal, it must be measurable. For example, if you want to lose weight, don't simply write down "lose weight" as a goal. How much weight do you want to lose? Or don't just write "spend more time with family." How much time do you want to spend with your family every night?
Are they your goals? Only you can set your own goals. If your spouse, co-worker or friend sets a goal for you, you're not going to achieve it. Taking ownership will give you more incentive to meet your goal.
Set a time limit. Setting a time frame will help you set realistic goals. For example, if you want to save more money, list how much money a month you want to put into your savings account.
Put them in writing. Putting your goals in writing will make you much more likely to achieve them. Write down your goals and review them often. This will give you motivation to make them a reality."
As an example, based on yesterday's post you all know that I want to use raise money for the Spero Project this year through racing my bike. There isn't much use in just saying "I want to raise money." The first time I win $10 in a race my goal would be met. Stating that I want to raise $10,000 by December 31 is a little better. Printing it out and hanging it on my desk at work and my refrigerator at home so that I have to look at it every day makes it even more real.
I usually don't set a goal to win a particular race. It almost seems like bad karma, like I'm asking for a flat or crash. Anything can happen during a race, and a lot of it is out of your control. Your teammate could get in an early break. Are you going to chase him down to meet your goal? No. I prefer to go into every race trying to win, but having certain months of the year where my fitness is at its best.
Once you have a goal in mind, your next step is to make a plan to achieve that goal. I would talk about that today, but I'm afraid I'll only be able to come up with 28 relevant ideas for blog posts, and since this is a leap year I'll need 29.
Actually, while I'm quoting Dave, I may as well just give you the whole shebang.
"Be specific. When setting goals, be specific in what you want to achieve. Vagueness will only cause you to feel overwhelmed, and you will just give up.
Make your goals measurable. In order to know if you achieved the goal, it must be measurable. For example, if you want to lose weight, don't simply write down "lose weight" as a goal. How much weight do you want to lose? Or don't just write "spend more time with family." How much time do you want to spend with your family every night?
Are they your goals? Only you can set your own goals. If your spouse, co-worker or friend sets a goal for you, you're not going to achieve it. Taking ownership will give you more incentive to meet your goal.
Set a time limit. Setting a time frame will help you set realistic goals. For example, if you want to save more money, list how much money a month you want to put into your savings account.
Put them in writing. Putting your goals in writing will make you much more likely to achieve them. Write down your goals and review them often. This will give you motivation to make them a reality."
As an example, based on yesterday's post you all know that I want to use raise money for the Spero Project this year through racing my bike. There isn't much use in just saying "I want to raise money." The first time I win $10 in a race my goal would be met. Stating that I want to raise $10,000 by December 31 is a little better. Printing it out and hanging it on my desk at work and my refrigerator at home so that I have to look at it every day makes it even more real.
I usually don't set a goal to win a particular race. It almost seems like bad karma, like I'm asking for a flat or crash. Anything can happen during a race, and a lot of it is out of your control. Your teammate could get in an early break. Are you going to chase him down to meet your goal? No. I prefer to go into every race trying to win, but having certain months of the year where my fitness is at its best.
Once you have a goal in mind, your next step is to make a plan to achieve that goal. I would talk about that today, but I'm afraid I'll only be able to come up with 28 relevant ideas for blog posts, and since this is a leap year I'll need 29.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Using bike racing to raise money for the community in 2012
I took some inspiration from my teammate Joey Mesa's 31 blog posts in the 31 days of January and decided to challenge myself to write 29 posts in the 29 days of February. If you haven't read Joey's blog, go to warracresbikebandit.blogspot.com and check it out. There is a ton of solid information over there.
I'll share some race tips, nutrition info/recipes, race reports, and various other things that come into my head while I'm out pedaling around. Most of it will be about riding, but I might have a few skating or triathlon posts in here as well if I get inspired. I'm mostly just writing this stuff so I can look back on it and have a laugh a few years down the road (like I did last night when I re-lived Joe Martin 2010), but I figured I'd make it public for some newer members of Team Undiscovered who are trying learn as much as they can while preparing for their first or second race season, and anyone else who might care.
This first post is a little different though, because unlike the other stuff I write, I really do care that people read this.
In 2012 it is my goal to use cycling to impact the needy in our local community, and many other communities across the U.S. I believe this idea is divinely inspired, and I hope it spreads like a wild fire.
For 2012 Sarah and I take whatever I was supposed to win at a bike race (finish and primes combined) and donate it to a local non-profit. On its own, that won't be very much money (not selling myself short...it just isn't a lot no matter how well I do). What I'm hoping is that I can find people who will pledge to match my donation, and give the money to whichever local non-profit they want to.
For example, lets say I win $50 at a road race. That money gets split amongst the team, but then Sarah and I will donate our own $50 to a non-profit, such as the Spero Project. Any friends, family members, etc. that want to help out can donate their own $50 to the Spero Project or anyone else they have in mind. If I find 10 people to match my $50, we are now looking at $550...a little better. If I can find a realistic 50 people, we just raised $2550; and that can make a huge difference in a local organization. Think of how many families $2550 could feed/cloth, and that is just from one day of racing.
I don't want to collect any money myself. The Spero Project has a place you can donate online. I do ask that if you make a donation, you let me know. It will be interesting to see just how much we can raise, and I won't know that unless you tell me.
I've told a few people about this, and others have decided to toss their own race winnings into the hat. Through the use of social media, internet forums, and some other connections I have (such as my friend Tony Stewards awesome blog at joetoprocycling.com), I want to get some other riders and teams doing the same thing in their own local communities.
To me, bike racing isn't about winning money. It's about training hard, getting fast, and trying to beat my opponents. Prize money has always been a cool side effect, but never the reason I wanted to do a race. Cycling is my hobby, not my job. I'm blessed with way more than I need, and the couple extra dollars I win aren't going to make a bit of difference to me, but they will surely make a difference to the working poor.
If you are interesting in participating/pledging, let me know. If you can't commit to 100% of the money or 100% of the races, just do what you can.
I'll share some race tips, nutrition info/recipes, race reports, and various other things that come into my head while I'm out pedaling around. Most of it will be about riding, but I might have a few skating or triathlon posts in here as well if I get inspired. I'm mostly just writing this stuff so I can look back on it and have a laugh a few years down the road (like I did last night when I re-lived Joe Martin 2010), but I figured I'd make it public for some newer members of Team Undiscovered who are trying learn as much as they can while preparing for their first or second race season, and anyone else who might care.
This first post is a little different though, because unlike the other stuff I write, I really do care that people read this.
In 2012 it is my goal to use cycling to impact the needy in our local community, and many other communities across the U.S. I believe this idea is divinely inspired, and I hope it spreads like a wild fire.
For 2012 Sarah and I take whatever I was supposed to win at a bike race (finish and primes combined) and donate it to a local non-profit. On its own, that won't be very much money (not selling myself short...it just isn't a lot no matter how well I do). What I'm hoping is that I can find people who will pledge to match my donation, and give the money to whichever local non-profit they want to.
For example, lets say I win $50 at a road race. That money gets split amongst the team, but then Sarah and I will donate our own $50 to a non-profit, such as the Spero Project. Any friends, family members, etc. that want to help out can donate their own $50 to the Spero Project or anyone else they have in mind. If I find 10 people to match my $50, we are now looking at $550...a little better. If I can find a realistic 50 people, we just raised $2550; and that can make a huge difference in a local organization. Think of how many families $2550 could feed/cloth, and that is just from one day of racing.
I don't want to collect any money myself. The Spero Project has a place you can donate online. I do ask that if you make a donation, you let me know. It will be interesting to see just how much we can raise, and I won't know that unless you tell me.
I've told a few people about this, and others have decided to toss their own race winnings into the hat. Through the use of social media, internet forums, and some other connections I have (such as my friend Tony Stewards awesome blog at joetoprocycling.com), I want to get some other riders and teams doing the same thing in their own local communities.
To me, bike racing isn't about winning money. It's about training hard, getting fast, and trying to beat my opponents. Prize money has always been a cool side effect, but never the reason I wanted to do a race. Cycling is my hobby, not my job. I'm blessed with way more than I need, and the couple extra dollars I win aren't going to make a bit of difference to me, but they will surely make a difference to the working poor.
If you are interesting in participating/pledging, let me know. If you can't commit to 100% of the money or 100% of the races, just do what you can.
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